Volleyball | Graphic by Kelsey Allen | The Wright State Guardian
Travers Green has already ticked the first win as the Raider women’s volleyball coach, defeating the Evansville Aces 3-1.
Game rundown
The game occurred on Friday, Aug. 26 in West Virginia, live streamed via Youtube.
While the Raiders only had one more kill and three less errors than the Aces, the WSU defense showed effectiveness against UE’s. Jenna Story and Lainey Stephenson both tallied 15 digs, combining for 30 of WSU’s 59. Melanie Feliciano, UE’s digs leader, only had 14.
Story and Stephenson did not always need to save a shot from the Aces, as the Raiders combined for 10 blocks versus UE’s four. Despite the Aces’ hitters having a height advantage over WSU,
UE’s blockers struggled with the placement and angle of their blocks.
WSU’s Taylor Bransfield and Callie Martin had five blocks each, with freshman Aliyah Byers totaling four blocks to shift the momentum of the match in WSU’s favor despite losing the first set.
From there, the Raider offense was able to generate more scoring opportunities. WSU hit .266 on 124 attempts, whereas the Aces hit .199 on 146 attempts.
As the Aces took the first set 25-23, the Raider defense stifled their attack for the rest of the match, taking the next three 25-14, 26-24 and 25-16.
Building an offense
While the Raider defense was able to slow down the Aces’ attack, the Raider offense was able to get up and running in the second and fourth set. The Raiders totaled 18 kills and four errors on 31 attempts in the second set coupled with a hitting percentage of .452.
Bransfield made a big splash for WSU, hitting a career-high 16 kills in 26 attempts. From there, Sam Ott and Martin totaled nine kills each, leaving the Aces on their heels for the rest of the match.
As has been the case in recent years, setter Stephenson was the centerpiece of the Raider offense with a total of 41 assists.
Looking forward after its first win, the team anticipates several Power Five opponents on a long road trip. This trip leads the Raiders back home for the Dayton Beavercreek Invitational with two matches against WSU’s crosstown rival, the Dayton Flyers.
The next home game against the Flyers is on Sept. 15 at the Nutter Center.
